Robson, Jordan, Vince, Ali impress selectors

ali

As Paul Downton, David Collier and Gordon Lord* (more on him later) sit down and decide who the next England head coach will be, the players are stating their cases too.

One man who’s guaranteed a place, Alastair “The ECB were so right to get rid of KP, but I can’t tell you why” Cook, scored his first century in any form of cricket since November. Ian Bell also scored an unbeaten century for Warwickshire.

More interestingly, however, Sam “tie me kangaroo down sport” Robson also made a century against a Notts attack that featured Peter Siddle. The demented clown took 0-70 off 19 overs. Why couldn’t he have bowled so badly during the winter? Git.

Other players who have impressed thus far are Chris Jordan, who has taken six wickets in Sussex’s match against Warwickshire (including Bell for a duck in the first innings), the elegant James Vince, who scored a meaty ton for Hants, and Adil Rashid, who continued where he left off last season with an impressive century against the cider guzzlers at Taunton.

Rashid, in particular, is an interesting cricketer. Although his bowling hasn’t developed in the way we’d all hoped, his batting has come on leaps and bounds over the last year or so. He now has seven first class centuries to his name at an average of 35. That’s three more than his nearest challenger for a test spot, Scott Borthwick.

The problem with both Borthwick and Rashid, however, is that they can’t be relied upon with the ball. If England’s next head coach has a similar philosophy to Andy Flower (and I can’t imagine he won’t with Flower still lurking in the background like Sir Alex at Old Trafford), then keeping control in the field will still be key.

That’s why Moeen Ali’s name seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment. Ignore his first class bowling stats. He was a pie chucker until two years ago. His bowling has improved dramatically in recent times. He has a good action, which looks classical and repeatable enough, and he’s probably as good as anything in country cricket – which doesn’t exactly say at lot, but it cannot be ignored.

Ali’s batting is also maturing. He’ll probably never be world class and average fifty in test cricket, but he’d be extremely, extremely useful batting at seven or eight.

In terms of offering a whole package, I think Ali’s currently England’s best bet. His batting is definitely superior to Borthwick and Rashid, and he’s become a front line bowler for Worcestershire – taking wickets for fun on the notoriously seamer-friendly New Road strip. Yesterday he took 3-43 off 19 overs against Kent, including the key wickets of Bell-Drummond and Darren Stevens. He’s also been working with Saeed Ajmal to perfect his doosra – although this probably involves chucking the ball like a javelin, so let’s not get too excited yet.

Unless you’re Sir Ian Botham, and you don’t know the meaning of the word anxiety, I think us fans are extremely worried about England’s batting at the moment. With a rookie opener likely, uncertainty over the number three position, Ian Bell unsure where he will bat, and another question mark at five, I have no problem at all with packing the side with all-rounders.

Let’s not forget the Ashes. We had the Aussies five down on several occasions during the winter, but it was Brad Haddin and their irritating tail that saved them time and again. At one point, their last five wickets had contributed more runs than their top five. If England can’t rely on our top order either, having handy players like Moeen Ali in the lower-middle order can’t be the worst thing in the world – especially if none of the other so called specialist spinners are any better with the ball.

What do you think?

James Morgan

*Gordon Lord was unquestionably Worcestershire’s worst player during their incredible run of success in the 1980s. Opening with the ever-reliable Tim Curtis, he timidly accumulated 3406 runs in 85 matches at a paltry average of just 27. I watched him closely in the nets once, and I swear he was no better than the bloke who opened the batting for my local club, Malvern Ramblers.

Needless to say, Gordon Lord came about as close to playing international cricket as David Collier. It’s good to know that two of the three men charged with selecting the next England head coach have about as much knowledge of international cricket as you or I. Meanwhile the third, Paul Dowton, has been out of cricket for twenty years. Interesting, isn’t it.

 

4 comments

  • Saw Gordon Lord bat a couple of times; well I saw him walk out, carrying his bat and I saw him walk back not long after. Think you are probably right about Ali – unless Rashid’s bowling reappears, he is the best choice among the county spinners.

  • Alex Ferguson was a mediocre footballer. Playing ability has no bearing on coaching or selection ability.

    • That’s not exactly true. I agree that playing ability isn’t everything but it surely cannot have ‘no bearing’ whatsoever. The point re: Lord and Collier is that they barely have any experience of first class cricket (playing or coaching). They are essentially just administrators. At least Sir Alex was actually a player. What’s wrong with including people who have actually played the game … and to a high level too. Experience has to count for something.

  • James Taylor played pretty well, I think he scored a half century in his last match, he should be considered, plus, he bowls some leg spin as well if I’m not mistaken.

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